Boss Key Games Shuts Down

littleclaude

Radical Heights Developer Boss Key Games Shuts Down

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/05/14/radical-heights-developer-boss-key-games-shuts-down

I am really sorry to hear the news. It could not have been easy trying to get traction on a multiplayer straight off the bat but hats of to them for trying. Lawbreakers game play was amazing. I think it had the best grapple hook system in a game to date and moving around in style was amazing. 

RustySpannerz

Radical Heights was actually really good! I enjoyed it much more than I did Fortnite or PUBG. 

JacqueChoi

;( Sucks.

Hope all those affected land on their feet.

Brian "Panda" Choi

o7 

Hope ya'll land at stronger places. Ya'll deserve it.

littleclaude

Cliff Bleszinski Shares Some Scrapped Game Ideas

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/05/16/cliff-bleszinski-shares-some-scrapped-game-ideas 

dystopianghost

Heard this last night, I loved the feel of Radical Heights, I wish the best for those effected by the studio's closure. 

Aydhe

It's really sad, as it was studio that tried to make something that's actually fun and oldsql unlike majority of modern games. Really hoping for the best for all affected by the closure.

valuemeal

I don't get it. Why did these boss based tough guys fail? 
Everyone was singing their praises a few months ago and BOOM gone.
Was it because the director fellow returned to the games of epic proportions and everything fell apart?
Or was it really because of the frozen game's overwatching fellows are saturating the market's color?

In either case, it is horrible for those who worked there; it seems as though the carpet was snatched from right underneath them

Brian "Panda" Choi

@valuemeal
It's because Lawbreakers failed to maintain attractive gameplay vs. other team shooters on the market.  As well as the burgeoning market share stealing of Battle Royale games.

This has only in minor part to do with artwork.

valuemeal

I honestly don't get it.
I mean I am not one for the tough guy games, but I watched at least three game play videos of that title. 
What's so unappealing about it?

Justo

Never played Lawbreakers myself, but I heard from John Bain TotalBiscuit that according to him the game failed to explain in detail the mechanics that really set it apart from other team hero shooters. If more people could have appreciated that, they wouldn't have been so fast in dropping a seemingly complex game for another one which they know more, like, say, Overwatch.

These news really suck, I hope those guys get to land a good gig somewhere else. 

PyrZern

Semi-relevant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfXQodsDfk

valuemeal

Woah woah woah
that video was rather confusing 

1. A tough guy game is a niche game? 
Idk dudes, all of the fellows on this site have been shouting from the roof tops on how this isn't niche.
It had everything that wasn't niche 
Hyperreal dudes
Guns
Gore
Arenas


2. How did the Guerillas of games and the epic fellows go from unheard of to AAA?
I am not sure was it the Xbox or was it the year 2006 and the Gear dudes? 
Literally who played the Jackrabbit? That's some really niche stuff 

3. Tencent 
I heard they were no good fellows who have a human rating system 


4.Cyber element not typical of ninjas? 
Idk I can think of at least five off of the top of my head
Grey FOX 
Raiden 
Strider
Shadowman.exe 
That ninja fellow from Megaman Zero.



5.Generic?
I thought tough guys liked generic things and things  that are hyper real with rusty textures.
Half of the dudes who are influential fellows are those types. 
Idk dudes.

PyrZern

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

sacboi

Hadn't played any of their titles, however was aware.of the positive reviews when Lawbreakers first launched so yeah definitly sucks to hear of another closure. Anyways best wishes for all concerned but nevertheless at the end the day commercial considerations will always govern a studio's continued viability.

notman

I don't get why he wasn't developing one of those other titles, rather than jumping on current trends. I think he kept arriving late, on new game trends, which led to this failure. Gamers are looking for something original, and he could have provided that instead

Aydhe

notman said:

I don't get why he wasn't developing one of those other titles, rather than jumping on current trends. I think he kept arriving late, on new game trends, which led to this failure. Gamers are looking for something original, and he could have provided that instead

Sad part is that gamers are not looking for something original, they're looking for iteration of what they're already familar with. Regardless of what people think, they're not too keen on new things when it comes to it.

NikhilR

Aydhe said:

notman said:

I don't get why he wasn't developing one of those other titles, rather than jumping on current trends. I think he kept arriving late, on new game trends, which led to this failure. Gamers are looking for something original, and he could have provided that instead

Sad part is that gamers are not looking for something original, they're looking for iteration of what they're already familar with. Regardless of what people think, they're not too keen on new things when it comes to it.

I don't think all gamers would be averse to an original idea. But the ones into Overwatch and PUBG aren't probably very flexible. 
All said and done with Lawbreakers and radical heights is clear the studios intentions were to bank on the popularity of established ideas, that's a tough market to compete in.
I feel like they should have learned from their reception of lawbreakers and placed either Dragonflies or Dogwalkers into production. Both those games would require massive teams and investment.

Justo

NikhilR said:

Both those games would require massive teams and investment.

Yeah, things which I bet they didn't have after the failure of Lawbreakers. Those titles were definitely cool, but they were a risk, and they tried to play it safe with Radical Heights. I bet a few in the company already knew of the studio's fate by then and pushed the others to try and release the game in its pre-beta form (i heard some stuff in the map wasnt even textured, though I havent played the game myself), crossing fingers for an unlikely, but ultimately saviour-tier, success. Sadly it didn't come, and sadly they had to shut doors. 

garcellano

Yeah, it's sad to hear. LawBreakers was fun, and I like that they brought a ton of Polycounters to help out on the game. Can't say anything bad about them, they did what they could. I'm glad that Radical Heights was received okay, even if it's buggy, or at least just the way it was viewed as an Early Access and around on Twitch. But yeah, hoping that the ones who stayed til' the end get something quick.

Alchemical

Sad to hear, but from the looks of it they went down swinging. Never played any of their games but Lawbreakers looked incredibly interesting. For the people affected, I hope this'll just be the dark chapter before their golden age.

pangaea

"First up is Dragonflies, which Bleszinski describes as “ninja/samurai in airships riding dragons fighting zombies with friends in a PVE “feudalpunk” setting on floating islands.”

That idea seems somewhat original. I wonder why they didn't gamble with that instead they went with Overwatch clone gamble and when that did not work went with a PUBG clone gamble. 

RustySpannerz

I'm just reading between the lines here, but I think they made the game they wanted to play with Lawbreakers. Something that they expected to be the next big thing in competitive FPS. Lawbreakers was in development before Overwatch was. Then Radical Heights was the last ditch effort to stay afloat. I mean they released it only 5 months after starting development in hopes that it could save the company. 

notman

RustySpannerz said:

Lawbreakers was in development before Overwatch was. 

I could be wrong, but I don't believe that's true. When Cliff was doing interviews, about Lawbreakers, I believe he mentioned several times, how it was designed to be like Overwatch, but with an FPS twist (or something along those lines). It may be that Lawbreakers was in the works, but changed the gameplay, to target the Overwatch style, but I got the impression that he was trying to jump on the popularity of Overwatch

ArtSplash

PyrZern said:

Semi-relevant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfXQodsDfk

Most of those videos about ''The failure of LawBreakers'' are click-bait, they don't say anything relevant. Most of them only talk about what happened before the game was released.

If someone seeks more information about why LawBreakers struggled to find an audience and retain players, we can find more information in the comments of ther following Gamasutra article.

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/318073/LawBreakers_dev_Boss_Key_Productions_shuts_down.php

Amsterdam Hilton Hotel

x

Alex_J

I don't play multiplayer or any games that much anymore, but I appreciate the bold attempt to take a tired genre in a new direction. However, I think gamers in that tired genre probably aren't itching for anything innovative. These aren't "hardcore" gamers, IMO, they are casuals even if they put in "hardcore" hours. Casual meaning, they want something familiar with a new skin and minor changes. They don't want to undertake the challenge of learning a whole new system.

Anyway, I'm sure the bold creators will land on their feet.

RyanB

The Gamasutra comments are a good breakdown of why it probably failed. 

One of his points is how low gravity games are annoying to most players.  Anyone who has played on a pub server knows that turning on low gravity is a great way to clear a server.   Temporary skill-based flight, such as grenade jumping, is ok.  Grappling hooks also generally suck ('member MegaTF?)

Eric Chadwick

Banning @Tidal Blast once again. We don't like your kind of vitriol around here.

Carry on!

valuemeal

Just curious, why is that Tidal Fellow is no good?

Brian "Panda" Choi

I second Morris' question in regards to THIS specific thread.

Eric Chadwick

Look thru their post history, it should become clear the deeper you peer.

CrackRockSteady

*thinking emoji*

Eric Chadwick

Yep, he tries to make another one. Bam! 

Our general rule on bans is if a particular member merits a complaint in the moderator chat more than a couple times, then they're not worth keeping around.

Tidal Blast came up a lot, with unfavorable ratings all around. He's also made duplicate accounts just for trolling. ArtSplash is him again, linking to and trying to anonymously promote his own comment on Gamasutra.

Screw that. Nuke from orbit.